The exploits and ponderings of aspiring novelist Al Burke

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About Al

(Stands up) My name’s Al, and I’m a writer.

How long have you been a writer, Al?

While probably not as long as I can remember, I’ve been writing for a long time.

That’s me in the photograph, the one who looks like a golem. I’m a husband of one (she’s also in the picture), and father of two (yeah, those two). I grew up in Dublin, but moved to Vancouver in 2009. With the magic of the Emerald Isle combined with the epic beauty of British Columbia, how could I not be inspired to write fantasy?

I didn’t always write fantasy. When I was younger, I didn’t even read fantasy. I consumed Science Fiction, Mystery and History by the shelf-load. Then it happened. I had put it off for a long time for one reason or another. After spending many years on my to-read list, I finally read it – The Lord of the Rings. That was it for me. I loved it, every single page. I liked it so much, I’ve read it seven times since. More importantly, I discovered the Fantasy genre in all its glory.

Still, I only read Fantasy, I didn’t write it.

I remember writing stories on my father’s old typewriter back when I was a kid. I remember writing essays in school that always got the highest marks, but I never thought of myself as a writer. I wrote articles that appeared in newspapers, and then I discovered blogging.

I love American football (among other things). I played for years, then coached when my knees said I couldn’t play anymore. When I emigrated, and I couldn’t play or coach, I needed another outlet. I could write. I knew football well. Why not combine the two? Over the next six years, I built up something of a following, while writing for some reputable sites. I made a few dollars, and turned down more offers than I accepted, but it was hard work. Not that I mind hard work, but I needed to do something different, so I stopped. Just like that. In mid-season nontheless.

Here comes the bit about the book (finally). I’d never written a book before. I had no idea how to go about it. I started reading all the stuff I could about it, but it was pretty depressing, so I decided to start writing. Luckily, I knew what I was going to write. I work in a library, and when you wander the stacks of a library, you can’t help but be inspired to write. The story I wanted to write (actually, two stories) was locked and loaded in my head, I just needed to find the time to put it on “paper”.

It took me nearly two years to write a reasonably short novella, trying to find the time in between all the other nonsense life throws at us. When I finished it, I sent it off to an up-and-coming publisher, and they accepted. I still have a little editing (and all that jazz) to do, but the provisional release date for the King is Dead is November 29th. Exciting times.